HiME Dawn
by megarockman78
Summary: Whether yours or someone else's, known or unknown, true or otherwise, the past can be troublesome sometimes. Rated for language and content. Nothing edgy, just not for kids.
1. Beckoning

_I haven't forgotten about 12LH+5, guys, but my computer's motherboard fried two Fridays ago, and I've been unable to access the work I've done on Chapter 11. So in the meantime, I thought I'd start another idea I've had for a while._

_Reviews are most certainly appreciated. I'm trying to sort out how I want to go about this._

_Again, My-HiME is property of Sunrise._

_4/20/08  
_

* * *

"_Don't turn around  
'Cause you're gonna see my heart breaking  
Don't turn around  
I don't want you seeing me cry  
Just walk away  
It's tearing me apart that you're-"_

The sudden and loud sound of a cell phone ringing interrupted Mai's latest foray at center stage. Well, to be precise it interrupted the audience's listening of Mai's karaoke: Mai continued to sing without stopping as the others turned to find the guilty party. In this case, it was Natsuki who was looking at her phone's display, which was rather odd considering the occasion. The gang had gathered at Mai's place to celebrate the graduation from high school of her, Natsuki (by a hair), Mai's boyfriend Yuichi, Chie, Aoi, Akane and her boyfriend Kazuya, and Yukino. Besides the aforementioned graduates, Mikoto was there by necessity; Reito, Shizuru, and Haruka had come back from college to attend their graduation day; Takumi had dragged Akira along; and Nao was there for the free food (which Mai had insisted on making over the objections of Takumi and Reito: "Come on, it'll probably be the last time I get to do something like this!"). In short, everyone who would know Natsuki's cell phone number and would have a reason to use it was present in Mai's room.

"Ara, does Natsuki have someone she isn't sharing with me?" Shizuru teasingly pouted. "I knew this day would come, but it is still so heart-breaking to know…"

"I-idiot," a blushing Natsuki stuttered. "I don't know who this is either."

"Just ignore it, then," Nao suggested. When she hesitated, Nao grabbed the phone and before Natsuki could protest opened and hung up the phone in a single motion before tossing it back to her.

Actually, Natsuki probably didn't need Nao's antics in the first place; she was leaning towards ignoring the call anyway when the phone was stolen from her. The last two years of her life had been a welcome break from her previous several, running in the shadows feeding off of revenge. A return to civilian life, as it was. She didn't think it was possible, especially for someone like her who was steeped in the seedier parts of society for so long and from such a young age. But she had help. Shizuru was the first who extended a hand, which is always the hardest to accept. But accepted it she did, and soon Mai picked up her work when Shizuru had to leave to attend Kyoto University. If one asked Mai, she would deny doing anything special to Natsuki in their years as classmates and friends, but Natsuki would beg to differ. Really, just being a good friend was enough for her to avoid what Alyssa called a failure to adapt. To be sure, she still exuded this maverick lone-wolf aura among the school populace, but it was a manageable one that elicited more awe than fear.

It wasn't just her, either. Natsuki looked over at Nao, who was busy gulping down a bottle of soda, very likely in preparation for a timely belch during the next song. It was still a far cry from the Carnival when she truly had no one to turn to. Natsuki owed much to Shizuru in terms of coming in from the cold, but she would not regret coming to Nao's defense that rainy day at the hospital when Shizuru threatened to kill her. She could not. They were kindred spirits, a connection that was only strengthened the past two years as the two worked their way back into a normal social setting. Neither of them would ever be completely ingrained into society – it was something of a silent pact the two had made – but at least they would be able to function day to day even if they refused to partake in some of the more frivolousness aspects society entailed.

"OK, who's next?" Mai called out.

"Um, uh…"

"Oh, that's right! You and Kazu-kun wanted to do a duet, right?"

While most of those present were laughing at the blushing spectacle that was about to unfold, Natsuki's attention turned to the third classmate in "How to Have a Normal Social Life 101": Alyssa. In some ways, her adaptation to normal life was more remarkable, given how she had spent her entire life under the guise of Searrs. OK, yeah, she probably had a lot of instructors to teach her how to conduct herself in public without raising suspicions regarding Searrs's true intentions, but the shyness wasn't faked. She was a quiet one in Fuuka's grade school levels, so it wasn't that great a shock when Alyssa started jumping grades and was now in the same year as Nao and Mikoto. In some respects, it was probably better that way, as at least then Alyssa would be around people she knew. Chie and Aoi made no secret of how remarkable they found how easily Alyssa fit in with the high schoolers, especially given so many went all fangirl and squeed all over the cute genius the first day she entered the high school classes. It was unfortunate that her body hadn't caught up with her intellect: she was sick with, of all things, chicken pox, which is why neither she nor Miyu were present at Mai's place. Miyu, meanwhile, had "withdrawn" from Fuuka supposedly to look for employment, and technically that was true: as they had disassociated themselves from Searrs, they needed to find another way to sustain themselves, and the Sister could only provide so much.

Another ring of Natsuki's cell phone interrupted her thoughts and the embarrassingly cute duet going down up front. Natsuki looked at the display. It was the same number. She stood up. "Where are you going?" Mai asked.

"Going to figure out who the hell this guy is and tell him to stop bothering me," Natsuki replied, waving the phone in her hand.

"Just remember your manners," Mai reminded her. She considered it one of Natsuki's weaker points in dealing with others.

"Yeah, yeah." She stepped outside, with Shizuru sneaking behind her to listen in from behind the door. That turned out to be unnecessary as the first words Natsuki said from the hallway, loud enough for all to hear, was "Who the hell are you and why are you calling me?!" "_Cue sweatdrop," _Yuichi thought, looking over at Mai's face.

"Um…" Takumi started, looking around at the nervous atmosphere that had suddenly settled upon the party by Natsuki's outburst. "Why don't I go next," he said, trying to distract attention away from Natsuki's lapse.

"Oh, you're going to do one, Takumi?" Mai asked enthusiastically, her mind suddenly not on Natsuki's outburst. "I can't wait! Do your best!" The song started with, much to Akira's consternation, a piano solo with some guitar acoustics that could only be described as romantic. It was when the English lyrics began that Mai and Akira realized just what song her little brother had picked, to the former's pleasant surprise and the latter's downright dismay:

"_Although loneliness has always been a friend of mine  
__I'm leaving my life in your hands__  
People say I'm crazy and that I am blind  
Risking it all in a glance…"_

The crowd was clearly enjoying it, if the multitude of pictures Chie was taking with her cell phone and the rhythmic clapping by everyone watching were any indication. Akira tried to look away from perhaps her single greatest source of embarrassment, but failed quite miserably. The fun level only went north when Yuichi and Reito joined Takumi for the chorus:

"_I don't care who you are  
Where you're from  
What you did  
As long as you love me…_"

Shizuru was not exempt from the allure of the show, and was about to return to the group when she thought it unfortunate that Natsuki wasn't up there. That led her to the realization that Natsuki was on the phone an awfully long time for someone on the other end that she didn't know. While everyone else was focused on the spectacle up front, Shizuru snuck closer and pressed an ear against the door, her hand covering the other one to block out the impromptu boy band performance.

"…you sure that's the only way?...Fine. When can you get there?...Alright." Shizuru thought she heard Natsuki sigh before walking back towards the door. She quickly backed away from it and sat down in the chair she had occupied previously just as Natsuki returned. "What took so long, Natsuki?" Shizuru asked innocently.

"Oh, um…I just hung up when I thought I heard a crash outside."

"Oh! Was anyone hurt?"

"Nothing serious. Just someone on a bicycle running into a sign."

"I see. I was beginning to think you were taking a very long time."

"R-right, well…" Natsuki quickly looked away and sat down in her seat. Even if Shizuru hadn't eavesdropped in on the conversation, she would have known Natsuki was lying and was hiding something. Ordinarily Shizuru would not intrude on Natsuki's dealings with her other contacts. Frankly it wasn't really her business. But when Shizuru looked over at Natsuki's seriously sullen face, concern took over. It was a face she normally associated with Natsuki and her contacts only in the early days of their relationship, before the Carnival. Something was up, and she was hiding it.

Mai didn't fail to notice it either. While Haruka lost a coin flip and was preparing to be next in line, Mai quietly shifted next to Shizuru. "Is something wrong?" she whispered.

"Natsuki's behavior is unusual, don't you think?"

"Kinda, I guess. I mean, it looked like she was actually getting used to normalcy." Both of them paused briefly over how unlikely that statement would have seemed two years ago. "Are you worried about something?"

"I am. Do you see the look on Natsuki's face?"

"Yeah?"

"I have seen that face once before. It preceded a three week absence from school the year before you arrived."

"Three weeks? I can't remember a time Natsuki was ever missing for more than one." Natsuki's

"Precisely. It was an unusually long absence, even for Natsuki."

"I see." Mai's eyes wandered to the front and looked at Haruka straining to belt out a song. "And you believe Natsuki will disappear this time as well?"

"If memory serves, Natsuki disappeared two days after I saw that expression."

"Where did she go?"

Shizuru looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, Mai, but I do not think it proper to divulge that sort of information."

"I understand, Shizuru," Mai responded. "Is it a touchy subject?"

'Yes. When I asked her about it, she only gave me a vague idea about it, and I could tell it was a sensitive matter, one that I felt was best left alone at the time."

Mai sighed. "So, what do you want to do about it?"

"May I make a request, Mai?"

"Of course."

"Natsuki comes over here often, yes? Can you watch over Natsuki for me over the next two days? I want to know what is going on."

"But didn't you say that you thought it best to ignore the matter?"

"I thought that was best at the time, and that was because Natsuki had been particularly difficult in the days after I brought up the subject. I had no recourse since I was by myself. But now I can use your help, that is, if you are willing."

Mai looked at Shizuru. Mai herself wasn't completely convinced that it was appropriate to infringe on Natsuki's privacy like that, but the look of worry on both Natsuki's and Shizuru's faces indicated that something was quite wrong. "Alright," Mai said finally. "I'll keep an eye on her."

"I am indebted to you, Mai," Shizuru said. "Please let me know if something happens."

"What are you going to do?" Mai asked.

"Natsuki is not the only one who knows how to gather information," Shizuru replied with a small smile. "I hope, though, that I will find out enough to put my mind to ease.

* * *

_Songs are property of Ace of Base and Backstreet Boys, respectively._


	2. Chance Encounter

_Chapter two is here. Please enjoy responsibly._

_nolens volens: I haven't settled on pairings for now, except MaixTate. I'll likely work on that on subsequent chapters._

_AC135: I only picked "adventure" because I didn't see an option for "Tom Clancy-esque thriller"._

_Again, reviews are most appreciated._

_4/22/08_

* * *

"Six thousand four hundred yen," Nao said to herself, counting the spoils from her latest hunt. Old habits die hard, and even though Julia was no longer around to help her Nao continued her hunts of pedophiles, partly to continue paying for her mother's medical expenses, partly because she still harbored hatred for the sexual predators in the world. Of course, times had changed since the Carnival: she now merely disliked men in general (it was certainly a shock to everyone, her included, when Takumi baked a cake for her birthday), and her lack of Elements meant she had to choose her prey carefully. This resulted in hunts that were less profitable than they once were; her potential targets and hunts were both fewer and farther in between. These days being able to snag more than one a week was considered a busy week. Tonight's spoils were an unusually high windfall, the most she's netted since the loss of Julia; though in the old days ten thousand yen or more was not unheard of. She sighed. Nao would rue the day she would take a normal 9-to-5-type job, but it was increasingly becoming the more stable option.

Still, she snagged a good deal of cash, and was quiet exhausted from having to manually beat down and tie up her target. A little spending for herself would be all right, wouldn't it?

Once Nao was satisfied he wouldn't be going anywhere for a while, she pocketed the cash and stepped out of the alley, making sure no one saw what had transpired. She looked around briefly to see what she wanted to do when she saw Natsuki across the street. She appeared to glance around before walking into a bar. "_Curious,_" Nao thought to herself. "_Wonder what she's up to._" Nao walked across the street and entered the bar.

The bar itself was pretty typical: a line of tables against the wall on the left, the counter on the right. Soft jazz music played from the speakers and echoed through the dim lighting. It was fairly crowded, enough so that while Nao managed to spot Natsuki's hair near the far end of the counter, no one seemed to have paid attention to the possibly underage redhead that walked in. She sat down at the near end of the bar with a hat on to try to attract less attention (though red hair is quite difficult to hide).

"What'll you have, miss?" the bartender asked.

Nao glanced at the menu. "One Asahi beer and an order of hot wings."

"May I see some ID?" Nao reached insider her pocket and pulled out an ID card she swiped from an earlier hunt. She still found it hard to believe there were female sexual predators looking for underage girls. Nao had spent some time and money getting someone to fix her picture on it and making sure the date of birth listed was believable. The bartender looked at the card. "Kind of young for a 20-year-old. First time drinking?" he asked.

"Yeah, so?" she replied.

"Just asking. Don't drink too much."

"I can handle myself, thank you." The bartender smirked before leaving to fulfill her order.

Nao's attention went towards Natsuki, who was seated next to a man Nao didn't know and which she guessed was a contact that Natsuki got information through. Natsuki's face was generally looking down towards the countertop rather than the man, no doubt an old mannerism in discussing information of a sensitive nature. It also meant Nao could lip-read some things that Natsuki was talking about, and she spent most of her time trying to wean information from the conversation. It seemed like the man was doing most of the talking, though, and with his back turned towards both Natsuki and Nao, she could only read Natsuki's half of the conversation.

"_How sure are you of this?...Kind of surprising Searrs didn't seem to know about this…Is that so? …"_

"Here you go," the bartender said, placing a mug of beer on the counter in front of Nao. "Wings are coming." She nodded semi-consciously in acknowledgement. The mentioning of Searrs was not a welcoming sign. Honestly, she had believed that Searrs was done for after their failed attack on the Academy just before the Carnival, and that Natsuki's disappearances after that were more connected to finding out about First District. But what could they possibly want from them? Their powers and Childs were gone, after all.

She took a sip of the mug in front of her and winced as the alcohol slipped down her throat. Good grief, beer was bitter! How the hell does Natsuki gulp the stuff down?! Nao's second sip, though, was more tolerable than the first. "_Not so bad once you get used to it, I guess," _she thought, "_though I think I'll stick with soda._" Nao continued to sip on her beer and, once they arrived, munch on her wings while looking at Natsuki.

"_Guess I'll have to brush up on those languages then…I'll have to look into that…yeah, yeah, I got your money, you greedy little ass…"_

"Why, hello there, little girl," a man's voice said from behind Nao. It was the kind of voice Nao was too familiar with. "What's a pretty wallflower like you doing all alone by yourself?"

"Avoiding garbage like you," Nao retorted, taking another sip. "Now would you be so kind as to piss off?"

"A feisty little one, isn't she?" a second male voice asked.

"Hmph," went a third. "We should teach her a lesson about respecting her elders. Kids these days are so flippant."

Nao felt a strong hand place itself on her left shoulder. "I don't think you heard me," Nao replied, her bravado belaying her inner nervousness of the situation. She had thought there was only one man, which was doable for her. Three against one was an entire different matter.

"Oh, we did," the man replied, "but we just don't believe it to be an acceptable answer."

"_Now or never,_" Nao thought. With a swift motion she used her right hand to grab on to the man's hand. Before the man could react, she swing off of her stool and, using her leg as a fulcrum, tripped the man by pulling on his hand. It was a flawless execution, topped off with the man's face landing in the plate of hot wings. Pretty impressive considering Nao's vision wasn't as clear as it normall was. Being classmates with Akira meant one could pick up a couple tips.

"Ahh!! My eyes!" the man screamed, pulling his face out of the food and rubbing his face. Luckily for Nao, she had a high spiciness tolerance.

"You bitch! You'll pay for that!!" one of his friends shouted. "_So much for subtlety,_" Nao thought.

"Hey!" the bartender shouted from the far end of the counter. "Take it outside!"

No one involved in the fight seemed to pay him any heed, though. One of the men standing lunged at Nao. She dodged the charge and tried to slip around the men to reach the door, but a hand grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

Nao made a snap decision and threw a haymaker right at the man's cheek. Though Nao was a pretty tough fighter for someone her size and the punch did make the man's head recoil, it failed to loosen the grip on her arm and the only thing it accomplished was making the man even more angry. Further, she punched the wrong man: she hit the man that tried to charge at her earlier, not the man who had a grip on her, who at this point had moved behind her and grabbed her other arm, a most vulnerable position that Nao resented being in.

"Hell of a bitch, isn't she? This is going to be all the more fun," the man behind Nao said. Try as she did, she couldn't wriggle herself free from his grasp. She was quite strong, but these guys must have worked out at the gym two hours a day or something. The man turned her towards the door and began pushing her out of the building. Nao was pushing with all her might with her feet to resist, but it was a losing battle. That is, until she heard the sound of glass shattering, followed by a groan of pain from the third man and the sight of beer bottle fragments showering the door in front of her. Nao glanced upwards at her captor's head, which was now turned away from her to see who threw that bottle. Then came a sight for sore eyes: a stool swung at high speed that nailed the man in the face. He recoiled from the pain, letting go of Nao in the process, and moved away to reveal Nao's savior. "Of course," Nao muttered half sarcastically.

"The hell are you doing here?" Natsuki asked rather tersely after smacking Nao's former captor with the remains of the bar stool. Nao would have no opportunity to answer, as the war cries from the other two men, who up to then were busy looking at each other's wounds, took their attention. Natsuki took on Burning-Eyes while an increasingly reckless Nao bulldozed the other man with a charge right into his gut. Three on one was pretty stacked odds, but two on two was much more favorable, and the two young women subdued the other two men in due time, with some help from a couple sympathetic customers who found the idea of raping an inebriated woman especially abhorrent. "_And here I thought she was a lone wolf,_" Nao thought.

"Sorry about the mess," Natsuki said to the bartender. "Mess" was probably an understatement, given all the broken furniture and glass that was strewn about the battle arena. "You can bill me."

The bartender sighed. "The insurance company's going to have fun with this one," he said. "Still, it's not like I can blame you two," he added, glancing at the three woozy men currently tied up with extension cords in the corner and waiting to be picked up by the police. "And I know your money's as good as your word."

"Thanks. We should probably go." Natsuki looked over at Nao, who was looking off into space slightly to the side of the bartender. Natsuki looked at her watch. "Damn, it's past one. Trains have stopped running." She looked at Nao again, who hiccupped. "No choice then." She grabbed Nao's shoulders and steered her to the door.

"You want me to call a cab?" the bartender asked.

"We'll be fine, thanks," Natsuki replied as they exited the bar.

* * *

Nao squinted as the orange sun shone right into her eyes, which was initially odd since the window to her dorm room faced north. The answers to her questions came one at a time.

"Morning, sunshine." Natsuki's voice. This must be her apartment.

"Mornin'…oh…" Nao said, a wave of pain throbbing in her head.

"You're a real lightweight, you know that? You must have puked up the entirety of Mai's dinner."

Nao would have made some kind of protest if her head wasn't being assaulted by the entire CPC wielding sledgehammers. She slowly sat up on the couch Natsuki had evidently laid her on for the night and her feet stepped on something that didn't feel like any floor she had ever seen. She looked down to see what appeared to be a drawer. "Appeared to be" because even in her less-than-optimal state, Nao could tell it had seen better days. "At least I keep my room nice and tidy," she remarked.

"This wasn't my doing," Natsuki replied. Nao looked at Natsuki, who was looking at the window where the sun shone through. It took some effort to focus her eyes properly, but once they did she saw the window had been smashed inwards. Glass shards laid scattered on the floor inside Natsuki's apartment. Taking some observations, Nao realized that the mess in Natsuki's place was more consistent with someone burglarizing it than with simple tidiness negligence.

Nao turned back to Natsuki, who offered her a glass of water. She took it and gulped it down her parched throat. When Nao went to hand the glass back, she noticed for the first time what else Natsuki was holding in her hand. "Overreacting a little, aren't we?" she asked.

"Not if you know what's going on," Natsuki replied, taking back the glass and setting it down on the floor before holstering the pistol.

"What _is_ going on?"

"You don't want to know. This is not something to get involved in."

Nao hazarded a guess. "It involves Searrs, doesn't it?" Natsuki quickly looked at Nao, her face expressing a "How the hell did you know?" look. "I'm right, aren't I?" Natsuki looked down and sighed. Nao decided not to pursue the matter for the time being and stood up. "I'm gonna watch TV."

Nao went over to the television and pulled up a chair before turning it on. The early morning news was on, and Nao was about to change the channel when the news anchor spoke: "_Repeating our top story: a daring and elaborate jailbreak occurred at Fuuka's Police Department early this morning, some 85 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. Two police officers are dead and five were injured, as three or four unknown assailants broke out three inmates being held at the local jail."_ Nao looked over at Natsuki, who was suddenly paying attention to the news. "_One suspect was killed, whom local police later identified as 26-year-old Kimura Yoshi._" Nao saw Natsuki turn a little pale. She turned back to the TV and saw a picture of the man killed on screen. "What? What is it?"

"I know that guy. He worked for Searrs."

"What?" Nao's head swung back at Natsuki, turning the TV volume down so that she could hear what Natsuki had to say.

"You didn't see the pictures of the inmates that were broken out?" Natuski asked.

"No, I was looking at your ugly mug."

"Those were the three that we met at the bar last night."

Nao put two and two together. "Shit. That means they were part of Searrs as well?"

"I had thought it odd when those three walked in after I did and took a booth nearby where I was seated. But when they got up and I heard their talk, I thought they were just looking for a random target. Guess that was just a cover for their presence."

"Which turned out to be me," Nao added.

Natsuki thought briefly before muttering, "Oh, that's just crap-tacular."

"What?"

"It is likely that Searrs will associate you with me because of that incident. They might go after you to try to get to me."

"Meaning…"

"You're involved in this whether you want to or not."

"OK, but what is 'this'?" Nao asked impatiently.

"I'll explain later," Natsuki replied. "First we gotta salvage whatever we can out of this place and then ditch this apartment. I don't know if or when Searrs will be back."

"You have a place to go to?"

"That's…actually a good question."

Nao smirked. "You can thank me later. Aoi's moving out of our room for spring break in a few hours. Temporary, but we can think of something from there."

"That'll work." With that, the two began sifting through the disaster zone that was Natsuki's soon-to-be-old apartment.

* * *

  
_CPC: Communist Party of China, which as of 2007 has over 73 million members. Yes, I know they don't consist solely of proletariat working in factories or communal farms, but you get the idea._


	3. Imperfect Information

_Here is Chapter 3. This one was harder for me to write, but I think it went OK. Again, reviews are appreciated._

_Silver Ice Bullet: It'll probably take a few chapters to unroll the story.  
WolfNightwind: There isn't anything wrong with wanting the canon pairing, but I'd appreciate it if pairings weren't being pushed. Otherwise I might make it a NatXTakeda.  
_

_Again, Mi-HiME is property of Sunrise._

_4/26/08  
_

* * *

"Give me a second, Mikoto!" Mai pleaded to the ravenous youth who appeared to be straining herself not to leave her seat and jump all over Mai. The incessant efforts of Mai to instill proper manners into Mikoto have had an effect, but the almost feral instincts of the girl would never be easily suppressed. This usually shows up most evidently around mealtime.

"But your food is so good," Mikoto replied. "And you won't be around much longer to feed me."

"What have I said before about watched pots?"

"…They never boil."

"Exactly. Lunch will be ready soon, just be patient," Mai reassured the hungry girl. She turned her attention back to the stove while Mikoto toyed with a spoon.

"Hey, Mai?" Mikoto asked.

"Yes, Mikoto?" Mai replied.

"Do you really think I'll be alright by myself?"

"Of course I do. You learned how to cook from me, right?"

"But what about that time when I tried to make fried chicken and it 'exploded like a volcano'?" Mikoto asked with bunny quotes.

"_Shit!_" Mai thought. "_She heard me say that to Chie?_" "Uh…well, it was a learning experience, wasn't it? You learned that dropping a frozen chicken into a pot of boiling oil is bad, right?"

"I suppose so," Mikoto replied, idly rubbing the back of her arm. If learning was that painful, though, Mikoto wasn't sure whether going to school was a good idea.

"That's what's most important," Mai added, getting on a roll. "In the end, it matters less what you learn from others as getting the ability to learn. To make mistakes and learn from them."

"Why is that, Mai?"

"Because no one knows the answer to everything."

"Not even that scary robot?"

"Yes, Mikoto, not even Miyu." Mai walked over to Mikoto and sat down in the chair next to hers. "You're worried, aren't you? About having to live by yourself."

"Mm-hmm." Mikoto nodded.

Mai sighed. Mikoto may be sixteen at this point, but she's still a little child at heart. She put her hand on Mikoto's head and ruffled through her hair. "I think you can do it."

"I can?"

"Yeah. I mean, how did you live before you met me?"

Mikoto thought about it. "I guess you're right, Mai," she answered. "But your food is so good!" Mai could only chuckle at Mikoto's logic. "No, really! I used to think that a hot bread bun from a bakery was a good meal. I can't even remember a time when Grandpa's cooking was as good as yours."

"Your grandpa cooked for you and Reito?"

"Yeah, when I was little. His food was pretty yummy for a man's cooking."

"Hey, hey," Mai gently admonished. "Most of the best cooks in the world are men, you know."

"But you're the best one in the world, Mai," Mikoto countered with a smile.

"Oh, stop it, Mikoto, you're making me blush! I still have to go through culinary school."

The two of them laughed at the embarrassment Mikoto briefly put Mai though before settling down. Mikoto then went over and hugged Mai. "Thank you, Mai."

"W-What for?"

"For…everything. For cooking such good food for me every day. And being a good roommate. And helping me with schoolwork. And reminding me to take baths. And…for the Carnival…"

Mai felt a warm tear on her breast and heard a sniffle. She returned Mikoto's hug by wrapping her arms around Mikoto and holding her tight. "It's OK, Mikoto, it's OK," she said softly like a mother might to her baby. "You'll be fine. I have faith in you. You can do it."

The two held their position for a minute or so before Mikoto finally looked up at Mai. "Mai?"

"What is it, Mikoto?"

"Is the soup supposed to boil over the pot like that?"

Mai quickly turned her head around. "Aieee!!"

* * *

"Jesus, Kuga, I hope you didn't forget anything," Nao remarked sarcastically as she dragged Natsuki's luggage case containing her extensive lingerie collection. Oh, to be sure, the two were carrying more essential items, but Natsuki would not leave without her collection.

"Shut up, Nao," Natsuki replied, herself not having a picnic carrying stuff down the stairs either. "I lost it all once; I'll be damned before I let it happen again. Besides, you should feel lucky: my current collection is only about 1/3 the original."

"Whoop-dee-doo. Maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket." Nao was honestly thankful for something, though: the fact that Natsuki had the foresight to call a cab to drive them over to Nao's dorm. No way in hell would the two of them be able to carry all of her stuff on Natsuki's bike. Nao placed the piece of luggage into the trunk of the cab. "Now, are you sure you have everything?" Nao mockingly asked.

"The rest I can carry with me on my bike," Natsuki said. Natsuki steered Nao into the back of the cab before she could protest. "I have some business to take care of first. I'll be at your place by this evening."

"Where are you going?"

"Like I said, business. Business that you don't need to know about now." Before Nao could ask again, Natsuki shut the door and banged on the roof of the cab, signaling the driver to go.

* * *

The knocking at the door took both Mai's and Mikoto's attention. "Who could that be?" Mai asked.

"Pizza delivery?" Mikoto asked.

Mai got up and walked over to the door to open it. "Chie? What are you doing here?"

"Had some time to kill after seeing Aoi off this morning," Chie replied. "You don't mind if I hang out here for a while, do you?"

"No, of course not," Mai replied. "Come on in."

"What smells good, Mai?"

"Ramen. What else?"

"Ah, the mainstay of Mai's Kitchen."

"Yup, yup!"

"Do you want a bowl, Chie?"

"I'd appreciate it, thanks." Mai went over to the stove and served up a second bowl for the guest. A melody played from Chie's cell phone, and she flipped it open to see what it was. "Whoa…"

"What is it?" Mai asked, carrying Chie's bowl to the table and setting it down.

"Look at this." Chie handed Mai her phone.

Mai looked at the display to see what appeared to be a building with smoke pouring out of it. "Whoa. Where is this?" Mai scrolled down the message and abruptly stopped near the end.

"What is it, Mai?" Mikoto asked.

"This is…Natsuki's address…"

* * *

"_Thank God they installed elevators last year_," Nao thought as she dragged Natsuki's luggage into her dormitory. Although it would certainly be true that dragging luggage up to the fourth floor where her room was located would be seen as odd by a passerby, at least the elevator meant shorter trips and fewer chances of said eventuality of occurring.

She had just brought two of the four pieces into her room when her cell phone rang. Nao picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Nao-chan, it's Mai._"

"Oh, hey. What's up?"

"_Have you been in touch with Natsuki recently?_"

"Um…a couple hours ago. Why?"

"_Her apartment's on fire and I can't get a hold of her._"

"Oh…that can't be good."

Mai sighed over the phone. "_I'm worried that she might be hurt or something._"

"Bah," Nao went. "It'd take more than a fire to take her down."

"_Still, I haven't been able to contact her. Shizuru hasn't either._"

"I see…"

"_If she calls or if you see her, let me know right away. A lot of us are worried._"

"Yeah, sure."

"_Thanks, Nao. Talk to you later._"

"Later." Nao hung up. "Huh," she said to herself. "So that's why she went off alone like that…"

* * *

Natsuki flipped through the files in the cabinet briskly and quietly, trying to find new information while still keeping an ear out for any possible threats. The office she was currently pouring through was fairly empty since it was Saturday, but other offices in the building were not.

"Here we go…" she whispered quietly as she pulled out a folder. Opening it revealed a dossier that she had been looking for. Natsuki took out her cell phone and, with the phone's camera function, took pictures of each page of the dossier at regular intervals, frequently glancing through the door to see if anyone was around. It was perhaps an advantage of doing such espionage work in the daytime, since that meant she could use sunlight instead of the camera's flash and risk discovery. Once she was finished, she returned the folder back into its rightful place. It was at that point she noticed the eighteen missed calls that took place since she had set it to "silent". Opening up the caller list revealed that most were from Mai, with a few from Shizuru. Natsuki sighed as she put the phone away. They would have to wait until she was out of there.

Retracing her steps, Natsuki came to the window she had originally entered the office from. Graceful as a cat, she opened the fire escape, slipped out to the outer façade of the building, and closed it again. Looking around to make sure no one was looking, she carefully made her way up to the roof of the building. Natsuki then walked through the building's roof access and re-entered the building via the fire escape staircase, stealing a glance at the cut fire alarm wire on the way before slipping back into the department store that made up the first three floors of the building.

Natsuki made her way out to the street and reached a nearby park. After sitting down at a bench, she dialed Nao's number. "_Hello?_"

"It's Kuga. Everything OK?"

"_Except for the hernia I got from your stuff, just peachy._ _Oh, and apparently Mai and Fujino have been running around like villagers being raided because your apartment's on fire and you haven't answered their calls._"

"Figures."

"_You say that as if your apartment catches on fire every other week or something. Have you tried to cook breakfast before or something?_"

"I usually order take-out or something."

"_Right. In any case, you might wanna call them back and tell them you're fine before they gather a search party._"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get on that."

"_Yeah, do it before they start asking me questions._" Nao hung up, leaving Natsuki to concoct a cover story for her disappearence.

* * *

"So you haven't heard or seen anything about Natsuki...OK, thanks, anyway…Yes, please let me know, Yukino." Mai hung up the phone and placed it on the table with a sigh. "Yukino and Haruka don't know anything either."

"I got nothing as well," Chie added, her brow furrowed and her own cell phone tossed to the other end of the couch. It was rare that her gossip network failed her, though to be honest it wasn't as good in getting up to the minute information.

"Guess all we can do now is-" Mai was cut off when her cell phone rang. She picked it up and answered it immediately upon seeing the caller's identity. "Natsuki?!"

"_Hey, Mai._"

"Natsuki! Are you all right? You aren't hurt or anything, are you?"

"_No, no, I'm fine. I just had my cell phone on silent._"

"You know about your apartment, right?"

"_Yeah, just saw it on TV._" Mai heard Natsuki sigh from the other end.

"It's on TV?" Mai looked at Chie and pointed at the TV in the room. Chie nodded in understanding and turned it on. "Do you know which channel it's on?"

"_Um…I can't tell from here…_"

"Ah, don't worry about it. Yeah, so, um…" Mai was at a loss for words. Then she thought of an idea when she glanced over at Chie and saw the TV report that was playing out the fire in real time. "Hey, Natsuki?"

"_Yeah?_"

"You can come stay at my place, seeing how you don't have a place anymore…"

"_Oh, um…I think I can handle it. Thanks for the offer, though, Mai._"

"Oh, um, sure."

"_I gotta go. Still have some things to take care of._"

"Um…OK…"

"_Later, Mai._"

"Bye, Natsuki." Mai hung up and stared at her phone oddly.

"What's wrong, Mai?" Mikoto asked, munching on a box of cookies.

"Natsuki seemed kind of odd to me."

"How so?" Chie asked.

"It was like…she didn't really care about her apartment being in flames."

"You're right, that is weird."

* * *

"…I see, Mai-san. That is good to hear…I see…It would not surprise me if Natsuki had other places she sleeps in other than that apartment. One does not put all the eggs in one basket…I would appreciate it if you did, Mai-san…Bye-bye, Mai-san." Shizuru hung up the phone. She took a sip of her tea before looking up from her up and over at the bench where a couple minutes before she saw Natsuki talk on the phone, presumably with Mai.

This was indeed a strange case. Shizuru knew that the apartment everyone knew about was not the only place Natsuki rested. However, the way that Natsuki, following her conversation, had gotten up and calmly walked away as if nothing had happened was perplexing. Not even Natsuki would be that indifferent to her apartment being burned, especially when Shizuru knew she kept her lingerie collection in that one. (Ah, yes, the playful times she had messing around and teasing Natsuki about them whenever she visited from Kyoto. So priceless.)

So fixated on the bench where Natsuki had sat was Shizuru, she barely registered that the cup was full and tea had begun to spill onto the table. Shizuru gasped and quickly stopped pouring. She used her handkerchief to try to mop up the spill.

"Are you all right, miss?" one of the waiters asked, hurrying over to help clean up the mess.

"Yes, I am all right," Shizuru replied. "I am terribly sorry for this."

"It's all right, miss." Once the mess was cleaned up, Shizuru started to drink on her tea again in an effort to calm down her thoughts, but her eyes always kept going back to the bench.

"What are you hiding from us, Natsuki?"


	4. Castle Law

_Welcome to Chapter 4. This one wasn't too easy for me to write, and yeah, it's still kind of slow, but I'm hoping the action will pick up soon._

_kikyo4ever: That's something I hope to develop in subsequent chapters._

_Enjoy._

_5/3/08  
_

* * *

"You lit your own apartment on fire?" Nao asked as if the person in front of her had just proclaimed she was the descendent of the long lost Princess Anastasia. She passed a can of soda across the table. "I thought it was Searrs's doing."

"No, that was a preemptive move on my part," Natsuki replied, opening up the can and munching on a sandwich. "There's too many things there that could have given away information about me."

"You know, you could have said something about that. If they were that important, wouldn't have they been useful in our possession rather than destroyed?"

"Possibly, but the risks were enormous. The longer that apartment was intact…the longer we had stayed there…the more opportunity Searrs would have to come down on the place. As it stands, there's a chance they'll think the fire was accidental."

Nao sat back in her chair. "Pfft. Only if they're incompetent. If they've had so much as a glance at your MO, they'd know you did that on purpose."

"Hence, why I left most of the less damning information bits to burn and only took the essentials," Natsuki replied.

"Hang on." Nao sat up in her chair again and leaned forward. "Your apartment was raided last night. What did they take?"

"A list of my haunts and other safehouses."

"Wow, that's not a very smart thing to keep in one place."

"Well, not a list per se," Natsuki explained. "Rather, I found several of the contracts and ads for bars that I visit scattered out of their place. Figure they'd be able to compile a list from that."

"Oh…That explains why you didn't object to me bringing you here."

"Yeah. Misdirection is a useful tool to have."

The two ate the sandwiches Natsuki had bought for dinner in silence for a while. Neither of them really knew how to proceed with their situation, and both were content for the time being with eating food until Nao's cell phone rang. Nao dropped her sandwich and picked it up. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Nao-chan, it's Mai. I was just wondering if you'd like to come with us for dinner._"

Nao looked over at Natsuki, whose face asked who the caller was. Nao mouthed that it was Mai. "Who's 'us'?"

"_Me, Tate-kun, Mikoto, Reito, Takumi, Akira-chan, Yukino, Chie, Shizuru, Haruka…I think that's it._" During the time Mai was going through her mental checklist, Nao was looking over at Natsuki, who was shaking her head rather emphatically and mouthing "No." "_So are you going to come?_"

"No, thanks, Mai," Nao replied. "I got other things."

"_Oh, OK. I'll talk to you later then._" Mai hung up.

Nao closed the phone and tossed it onto the table. "Man, this blows."

"Welcome to my world." Natsuki pulled out her phone and started looking through the pictures she had taken earlier that day.

"What are you doing?" Nao asked.

"Trying to find information about Searrs," Natsuki replied. For a while the only sounds that could be heard was either the creaking of chairs or the occasional beep from Natsuki's phone as she was scanning through the pictures. Nao grew increasingly restless. Trying to drive away her boredom, she began to wander around the room, sitting down and getting up in various places at fairly regular intervals. Suddenly not buying that old TV seemed like a poor decision for her. After what the clock on the wall said was twenty minutes but what Nao's clock said was eternity, Nao had had enough. "I'm going out."

"For what?" Natsuki asked. She glared at Nao like a prison guard eyeing an inmate who had tried to escape before.

"Who died and made you boss?"

"The Searrs guy who was killed last night," Natsuki replied without hesitation. "Like I said, I don't know what they're going to do. It's not safe outside."

"OK, so why should I have to pay for your problems? Do you have to keep me cooped up under house arrest?"

Natsuki sighed. The look on Nao's face meant she was really intent on getting out of her room, and would probably be disruptive to her just to be spiteful. "Fine. Go to the roof: I wouldn't recommend leaving the building."

"I just want some fresh air and a better view than you."

"Don't stay out too long."

"Yes, _Master_."

* * *

Nao could only sigh as she circled around the perimeter of the rooftop of her dorm. She knew that many would find it funny that she could be so easily put on a leash. And, indeed, ordinarily she would have been yapping and gnawing at that leash so that she could do as she pleased. But the seriousness that Natsuki exuded whenever she talked about this "situation" was something Nao knew not to take lightly. True, Natsuki being relaxed was a rarity in public (and uncommon even among friends), but this was a seriousness that frankly unnerved Nao. It hearkened back to the pre-Carnival days, when the two really only knew of each other's existence. Back then whenever they saw each other on the street they would just walk on by with little more than eye contact to acknowledge the other, a nonverbal truce between two with their own agendas, reinforced by the "don't bother me, I'm busy" look Natsuki always had on her face in those days.

Nao sat down, her back leaning against the corner of the shed where the stairs to the roof were housed. The night breeze blowing by toyed with the leftmost fringes of her red hair bathed in moonlight. She looked out into the night, the city lights which up until then were her prowling grounds. Grounds where she might never be allowed to roam again, thanks to this mess. Come to think of it, she didn't even know what this mess actually consisted of. All she knew was that it involved Natsuki, her past, and Searrs. The urgency that Natsuki had directed the pair's actions in the past twenty-four hours or so had really pre-empted any questions. Natsuki, however, was now in DBMIB mode, and irritating an ally is rarely a good idea.

It was a familiar feeling for Nao. A feeling of loss: of freedom, to be precise. It wasn't as debilitating as losing her mother when Natsuki's girlfriend killed Julia, but it was a loss nonetheless. She had lived without her mother for so long, her freedom had become her constant companion, the streets her second home. Certainly it wasn't her mother's fault that Nao had no parental confidant for perhaps the most critical years of childhood, but the result was the same regardless of circumstance. Nao sat there for a length of time she did not bother to calculate, watching the clouds pass by the moon or the flickering lights of humanity in the distance, letting her mind walk aimlessly without a destination. About the only thought she would be able to recall later from then was that the roof needed a fence around it.

Nao's wandering mind returned to reality when she faintly heard the sound of metal hitting the ground. The sound came from behind her, roughly where the door to the roof was. Nao listened carefully, and picked up the sound of the door opening and light footsteps descending down the stairs. She peered around the corner to her left and, upon seeing nobody, quietly made her way to the next corner. Nao peered around the next corner and caught the sight of the door swung wide open, its handle lying on the ground on the near side of the doorway. "_Oh, this can't be good,_" she thought. Nao followed the trail of destruction (whoever was doing this wasn't doing a very good job at being subtle) down the stairs and through the halls of her dormitory. However, she began to pick up the pace when she realized the trail was going. At the corner just before the hallway that led to her room, she peered around again and saw three men gathered around her door. What caught her attention was that one of them was holding a shotgun. "Take them alive," she heard one of them say.

"_Oh, shit._" Nao instinctively reached for her phone to call and warn Natsuki but could not find it. She patted around briefly before realizing she must have left it in the room. "_Double shit._" She peered back around the corner, looking at one of them attempting to open the door more subtly than the MO they had written up to that point had suggested. Nao was waiting for an opportunity to jump on them and alert Natsuki. Or maybe she should jump on them just as they were entering so that their attention would be on the room in front and not to the side. That still left the question of who to jump: the man with the shotgun would have the most upside, but also the most dangerous as well as the most difficult to get to (he's probably the point man). But would jumping either of the other two been of any help?

Nao's rapid train of thought was derailed by the sound of gunfire. Not the firing of a shotgun: indeed, when Nao focused on the scene in front of her she saw the man with the shotgun doubled over in pain. Nao figured the shots came from a handgun, probably Natsuki's seeing as how she was at that moment sprinting through the door and ramming herself into the gut of one of the other two men. Acting on instinct, Nao raced to the scene and joined in the fighting.

A few minutes, several bruises, and some likely unnecessary roughness later, the three intruders sat unconscious on the couch in Nao's room. "You alright?" Natsuki asked Nao.

"I'll live."

Natsuki laid out the contents of the belongings the intruders had on them on the table. "Searrs?" Nao asked.

"Yeah," Natsuki replied, holding up a business card. "Same office that I was at earlier."

"Great, just frickin' great. How did they get a hold of my place?"

"Don't know. Could be that they had known about it from before."

"True."

"In any case, we can't stay here for much longer."

"'We'?"

"You heard the man say 'them', didn't you? Searrs is definitely after you as well as me."

The conversation was interrupted by a quiet groan coming from the couch. Nao stepped back as Natsuki pulled out her pistol and pointed it right at one of the heads. "You move, you die," Natsuki intoned.

"Ah, dammit." The man that had come around fidgeted around a bit, but Nao had yet to meet a man that was able to worm his way out of ropes she tied.

"You want to explain why you three are after us?"

"And what do I get out of it?" the man asked.

"Not requiring emergency brain surgery."

"You shoot me, you don't get anything."

"Eh, at least until your friends wake up."

"They wouldn't betray me."

"The last one alive will talk when he has no friends to betray. The second will realize that and talk when he wakes up. So now the question is this." Natsuki pulled back the hammer. "What's the next logical step in this process?"

"…"

"Oh, and I've been drinking a lot of coffee lately, so my finger's been kinda twitchy."

"All right, all right!" Natsuki lowered the gun, returning the hammer to its original position. The man took a deep breath. "I was just given orders and directions to this place."

"Your orders we know already, so who's your boss?" The man appeared hesitant, so Natsuki cocked the pistol again. That seemed to jog his memory pretty well: "Megumi! It's Megumi!"

"What's her last name?"

"I…I…" Natsuki pressed the barrel of the pistol up against the man's head. "I don't know, I swear! She never gave a last name to any of us!"

Just then, an unfamiliar ring tone went off. Natsuki looked at Nao, who shook her head: "That ain't mine." She walked over to the table and picked up a cell phone that was lying on top of it. "Must be one of theirs."

"You ought to let me answer that," the man said. "Otherwise they'll know something's up."

"Fine," Natsuki said. "But we're listening in. If they ask, tell them we haven't come back home yet."

"Fine. I'll need a hand to hold the phone." The man wriggled one of his arms to indicate.

"Yeah, right. Nao, hold the phone for him."

With Nao holding the phone next to his ear and Natsuki with her gun pointed at his cerebellum, the man answered the phone. "Hello?"

"_What's your status?_" Came a voice from the other end.

"Waiting for them to return. Appears they've gone out."

"_Very well. Call back in a half hour._"

"Will do." The caller hung up. As Nao proceeded to close the phone, Natsuki suddenly pistol whipped the man in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious again. Nao jumped back in surprise, as she had not anticipated Natsuki doing something that rash. "What was that for?" she asked. "Never took you to be the violent impulsive type."

"The bastard alerted his boss that they were captured."

"How do you know?"

"If they wanted to say that everything was fine, they would have responded 'Status quo'. Something I observed about them in my past dealings."

"I see…"

"I need to call the Director. Where's my phone?"

"Here." Nao tossed the phone to Natsuki. "What's the rush?"

"Searrs will be here in a half hour, but if the Director can pull a couple strings, they won't dare try to barge in on us."

"So you're calling the maid?"

"She's been getting First District as a useful ally for me." Natsuki began to look through her phone's list of saved numbers.

"Those guys?" Nao said with a bit of venom. "Didn't your girlfriend tear them apart limb to limb?"

"Shizuru did disrupt a good deal of it a couple years ago, but some elements remained. The Director was able to gain control of a good portion of the remnants and put it to our use."

"'Our'?"

"As in protect the HiME, present and future."

"Ah…Can she be trusted?"

"At least more so than Searrs, don't you think?" Natsuki pressed the call button on her phone. "Hello, Director?...Yeah, we know. We caught them, but back-up is coming…half-hour…OK, we'll see you then.

* * *

_Again, reviews are much appreciated._


	5. Secrets

_And so Chapter 5 is here. When I ought to be writing that six-page essay due in about 12 hours. Ah, the joys of procrastination._

_WolfNightwind: I am inclined to agree that Natsuki and Nao seem a little OOC here. I'm trying to work on that. It's good to know that the pacing's solid, though. As for the plot, I just hope I don't confuse myself._

_Again, reviews are much appreciated._

_5/13/08_

* * *

Ever the courteous one, Fumi Himeno, now the director of Fuuka Academy and de facto head of what remained of First District, walked into the drawing room carrying a tea tray. "I hope black tea is all right; you seem to have caught me before I have had a chance to purchase others."

"That's fine," Natsuki said, dismissing the matter with a wave. "We're just grateful for your hospitality." Nao merely made a quiet, disinterested grunt, which they took as a sign of genuine, if somewhat annoyed, assent. Fumi placed the tray down on the coffee table and poured out three cups. Natsuki took a sip of hers before continuing. "Did they tell you anything new?"

"Unfortunately not, Kuga-san. The interrogations only served to reinforce what we already knew in the first place."

"Interrogations?" Nao intoned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Yuuki-san. Interrogations." Nao wasn't sure whether the sweet and gentle way Fumi spoke (in other words, there was nothing sinister about her voice) answered her question was comforting or disconcerting. It certainly didn't help in making her feel more settled with this situation that was quite beyond her grasp.

Natsuki sighed. "And we have to assume that all my hideouts are compromised."

"We?"

"As in you and Kuga-san."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Nao sat up abruptly. "No way. This is your mess, Kuga."

"Then what was that about offering your place for me to stay?"

"Temporarily! On a temporary basis! If I had known you'd take a mile-"

"Me?! Why the hell are you pinning this on me?"

"Because you're the one who brought this along!"

"Please, please calm down," Fumi pleaded. "I do not wish to antagonize you any further, Yuuki-san, but Kuga-san is right. The fact that they attempted to attack your dorm room so soon after your encounter with them at the bar only supports this. I do not know whether you appreciate the gravity of your situation."

"Might help if I knew what this 'situation' exactly consisted of," Nao replied, using bunny quotes for emphasis.

"Fine," Natsuki replied. "I owe you that much, at least."

Fumi turned to Natsuki. "You did not explain this to Yuuki-san?"

"I got caught up in my work," she replied. She turned her attention back to Nao. "Remember when we were at Mai's place and my cell phone went off?"

"Yeah?"

"The caller was a contact of mine from the Carnival days. He said he had information about my father."

"Your father?"

Natsuki nodded. "Dieter Kruger."

Nao paused for a second. "You're half-German?"

"Apparently. Never actually met him, though."

"If you've never met him, then why are you chasing him? You don't seem like the type to become attached to figures that never mattered in your life."

"More out of necessity than anything else. Searrs is chasing me because of him."

"Since when?"

"About a few months ago."

Nao leaned back in the couch. "Huh. That would explain why you suddenly became busier in the past few months."

"You don't seem like the type to care about other people's business," Natsuki retorted.

"Hard not to know when Mai always talks about it."

"Ah…"

"Anyway, why are they chasing you when it's about him?"

"Don't know the whole story, but it involves Searrs obviously and my father's past."

"Could you be any vaguer, please?"

"From what I've found he was a former HVA agent."

"What the hell is that?"

"_Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung_," Fumi replied in near-perfect German. "The East German equivalent of the CIA."

"Jeez, no wonder you're good at this spy stuff. It runs in your blood."

"Guess you could say that."

"Wait, East German?"

"Yeah, as in Cold War era East German."

"Gee, what did you think I was thinking of, the Napoleonic era? Gimme a little credit here please. Anyway, how does an East German guy meet your mom?"

"I do recall my mother mentioning that she studied in Munich in the early 80's before I was born. It's not that great a stretch to believe that an East German agent would be my father when one considers how much effort the GDR focused on West Germany during the Cold War."

"OK," Nao said. "Let's see if I have this straight. Searrs has been chasing you around the past few months because your father is an ex-KGB agent or whatever and they think you might know something, but you don't."

"Pretty much."

"And I have to hide with you because Searrs won't stop hounding you and now me."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"No, no, it's cool. Life's been too nice and peaceful recently. I've always wanted to run for my life without knowing why, looking over my shoulder every five seconds. You know, walk a mile in your shoes." The stares Nao received spoke more than words could hope to. "Sarcasm, Kuga. Sarcasm."

"In any case," Natsuki said, turning to Fumi. "Do you know who this 'Megumi' is? One of the men spilled that name before you arrived."

"Megumi?" Fumi thought for a minute. "Oh, that one. Not a lot."

"Anything would be helpful."

"Well, it is a pseudonym for someone high up in Searrs's Far East operations. Might even be the head."

"'Far East' implies Searrs is big," Nao noted.

"Yes. Japan is not the only place that Searrs operates, though it is their base in East Asia. They have been around a very long time. Mashiro-san believed that reports of 'interference' in some previous accounts of the last two Carnivals are Searrs's doing, or at least their predecessors."

"The ones that took place three and six hundred years prior?"

"Yes."

"But aren't they an American corporation? I'm pretty sure America wasn't a country back then."

"That's their current guise," Natsuki said. "Who knows what they were before corporations came into existence? Anyway, regarding Megumi?"

"Oh, yes. Despite the name, we have reason to believe that Megumi is an American or at least Caucasian, though one that speaks Japanese very well, presumably working as a high-level executive of some kind at a Searrs front company."

"Which leads me to this," Natsuki added, opening up a folder. The inside contained a stack of photographs of official documents. Fumi looked over the photos to study them; Nao looked over them out of curiosity. "There's a bar in the Shinjuku section of Tokyo that several execs like to frequent after business hours. Even if this Megumi doesn't go to bars and hang around plebs, it's still probably the best way to get to the top."

"Whoa, wait," Nao interrupted. "Wasn't this about finding who your father was and what he was doing?"

"Partly," Natsuki conceded. "But Searrs has turned up the heat in recent weeks, and I probably know less about my father than they do."

"So why are they after you?"

"They may know more, but they may think I know something they don't know. Only way I'll know for sure is if I know what they know." Nao took a moment to process all the uses of the word "know" in that sentence, which Natsuki used to return the conversation back to Fumi. "I have to call in a favor from you. Can you set us up in a place nearby to operate from? I don't trust my own hideouts at the moment."

"That can be done, Kuga-san. I will make the necessary arrangements shortly and will pass the information on to you before you leave."

"Wait, leave?" Nao asked. "Like, now?"

"The faster we move, the less likely Searrs will know what we're doing, which means the more freedom of movement we'll have."

Nao was exasperated. "Kuga, do you have any idea what you're asking?! I've been dragged into your mess, had my room shot up, am currently being chased by Searrs, and now you want me to just run away with you?"

Natsuki stopped. She had almost forgotten that Nao had gotten drawn into her mess more or less unwillingly. "Well…" she mused. "I guess I'll need to change the license plates on my Ducati and stuff to disguise it. You can probably take that time to sleep some. But we should leave before sunrise: the dim light should help a bit."

"Four hours?" Nao sighed, this time in resignation. "Guess that'll have to do." She sat up on the couch. "What about my stuff? And Mai and the others?"

"I don't want to bring Mai into this. This is my fight."

"Will you stop it with this lone wolf shit? It ain't your fight alone anymore. At least bring your girlfriend in. She can keep a secret, can't she?"

"No," Natsuki said rather emphatically. "Especially not Shizuru." The finality of her statement precluded any further discussion. Between fits of frustration over Natsuki not telling the whole story, Nao couldn't help but wonder just what was going on if even Fujino was barred from it.

Fumi moved to restore order: "Your belongings will be collected and stored here for safekeeping, Yuuki-san. I will be able to send a suitcase of belongings for each of you to Tokyo. As for Tokiha-san and the others…"

* * *

The pounding on the door said that it was urgent but one look out the peephole and Fumi knew what was about to happen. "Good morning, Tokiha-san," she greeted to an out-of-breath Mai. Mikoto, Yukino, and Chie were there as well, the latter two off in the background due to Mai's panic and Mikoto's prowess.

"What's going on, Fumi? Why is Nao-chan's room cordoned off by police tape? Did something happen?!"

"Tokiha-san, please calm down," Fumi urged. "Yuuki-san's room was apparently burglarized last night some time after midnight. One of the girls in the dorm reported it to us."

"Is Nao hurt?"

"Not as far as I can tell. No one heard Yuuki-san scream or anything during that time, and there were no traces of a struggle either. She has not called me or anyone else that I know of since last night, so I assumed that she is off somewhere in town. Have you tried to call her?"

"Repeatedly," Chie replied, having caught up to the group, "but no one's picking up. I think her cell phone batteries are dead, since it goes right to the answering machine after a ring."

"That is regrettable." Mai became both relieved and dejected; the former because it didn't seem like Nao had gotten hurt, the latter because no one could tell for sure.

"Director," Yukino spoke. "I suppose that this is something even less likely to happen, but would you happen to know where Kuga-san is? We have not been able to contact her since yesterday afternoon after her apartment burned down."

"Yes, I had heard about Kuga-san's apartment." Fumi shook her head. "Unfortunately I know even less about Kuga-san's routines than I do Yuuki-san's. I am sorry I could not be of help."

"That's all right," Mai said. "So long as Nao's OK."

"She probably is," Chie said in encouragement. "I'd pity the man who underestimates her because of her size."

"Come on, Mai," Yukino said, taking her by the arm. "Let's go listen to Alyssa sing."

"Yeah, Mai," Mikoto added. "You said we would go."

"All right, all right," Mai said. The four turned and walked down the driveway and towards the church.

Fumi watched as the gang walked down the sun-soaked driveway before closing the door and returning to the drawing room where hours before the two in question had sat and drank tea. She looked at the portrait of Mashiro that hung over the fireplace, bathed in the yellow-orange glow of the morning sun. Fumi had a hard time believing that it had been two years since she last saw her. Fumi had proven capable of being Mashiro's successor as Director of Fuuka Academy and all the trappings it entailed, but some nights she simply missed her presence. She missed admiring how a young girl (well, young in appearance) could hold so much knowledge, so much wisdom. Some days Fumi felt that she could have used some of it, among them this day. "Am I doing the right thing, Mashiro-sama?" Fumi asked the painting. "Is it better that the others do not know?"

Outside, Mai had hung back a little from the others to use her phone. "_Hello? This is Fujino._"

"Shizuru, it's Mai."

"_Oh, Mai-san. How are you?_"

"OK, I guess. Fumi said that there was a burglary of Nao's room last night."

"_Ah, I see. Is she all right?_"

"Probably, but we don't know for sure. Nao hasn't called anyone since I called her last night. Have you seen Natsuki?"

"_I have not seen her since Friday night._"

Mai sighed. "I'm worried now. Do you think she's disappeared like you said she would?"

There was a brief moment of hesitation on the other end. "_I do not wish to think so, Mai-san. But with each passing hour it grows more likely._"

"What do you want me to do?"

"_Please, Mai-san, you have already been a great help to me. There is no need for me to burden you any further. I will continue to look into this matter. If you come across Natsuki, please let me know._"

"OK, Shizuru." Mai felt Mikoto tug her sleeve, and she looked up to see the imposing doors of the church. "I have to go now. I'll talk to you later."

"_Very well, Mai-san. Good day._"


	6. Support Group

_I should be writing this final paper due very soon. I should be cramming for that final today. I shouldn't have spent all that time watching the triple overtime game between the Pens and the Red Wings. But obviously I haven't. Man, I am sooo screwed. But on the plus side, I finally updated this thing!_

_Wolf: Just be patient. All will be revealed in due time. At least, if I plan this out right._

_Again, reviews are most appreciated._

_6/3/08_

* * *

"Last day, huh, Mai?" Akane asked her soon-to-be-ex-co-worker at Lindenbaum.

"Yeah…" Mai replied only half-aware.

Akane shook Mai's shoulder. "Nostalgic?"

"I suppose so, Akane." Mai looked over the interior of the diner that had been her third home for the past three years (after the karaoke bar, of course). "What about you?"

Akane thought for a minute. "I don't know if nostalgic would be the right word, to be honest," she replied, scratching her head. "I mean, I did get to Kazu-kun, and you, and Midori-chan here, but to be honest, I, um…I can't wait to leave here and go to Tokyo." Akane whispered the last portion of her line, glancing over at the kitchen area while doing so.

Mai understood what Akane meant. It wasn't so much of what took place at Lindenbaum itself that moved Akane into such a drastic stance; it was what happened outside that stemmed from the place. Had she not taken a job here and met Kazuya, she never would have known heartbreak and despondency. Had what happened in the bamboo forest never happened, she would not be looking over her shoulder half the time at the girl with the light blue hair, even though a thousand assurances have been made on her behalf. Had she never received the mark of the HiME…

Fortunately it seemed like Miyu didn't hear any part of the conversation, so the two settled down into a quiet contemplation about this transition in their lives. The diner was unusually slow for a Sunday afternoon, though even then the quiet murmur of activity provided background music that was nice and soft, suitable to the end of a journey. The only thing missing were the occasional crash of plates to mark the hours, but since Midori had left several months ago to work with that old professor in the US and Akane was currently resting with Mai, it was to be expected. Speaking of whom…

"Hey, Akane-chan."

"Yeah, Mai?"

"You haven't heard anything from Midori-chan, have you?"

Akane shook her head. "Not in a while, no. You haven't?"

Mai shook her head as well. "Seems like the last thing any of us got from her was the postcard I got for Christmas."

"Was that the one that said she was going off on an archeological dig somewhere?"

"Yeah, some Khmer sites in Cambodia if I remember correctly. It's been three months now, how come she hasn't sent us anything?"

"Maybe she's having a hard time doing so? I mean, I don't know how hard it would be to send a letter from there."

Mai shook her head. "It still shouldn't take three months, though."

"Maybe she's just been busy?"

"Hmm…maybe. I mean, if her last trip was any indication, I guess she'd be too busy being chased by locals to write back."

Akane chuckled, then sighed. "How is it that she gets all the exciting stuff?"

"What, you're complaining?"

"Well, not really, it's just that things seemed…I don't know…mundane, maybe...since then."

Mai pondered over Akane's rambling. Emotional stress aside, she did find merit in Akane's point. The two years after the Carnival had been pretty normal, a far cry from their first year. It wasn't that Mai wanted the times of the Carnival to return, it was that compared to back then, the last two years seemed anticlimactic at times.

Mai's thoughts were interrupted when she saw Akane's puzzled face look at something behind her. Mai turned around and saw Shizuru walking into the diner. "Oh, Shizuru!"

Shizuru turned her head. "Oh, hello, Mai-san, Akane-san."

"Do you need anything?" Akane asked, standing up.

"Eh?"

"This is a diner after all, and technically we're working, right?"

"Oh, I see," Shizuru said with a chuckle. "Actually, I would like a root beer float, please."

"OK, then, Fujino-san. Please wait a minute." Akane went off to the kitchen.

"I never would have fancied you to be a float person," Mai remarked.

"You can blame Natsuki for that," Shizuru replied.

"So what brings you here?"

"You, actually."

"M-me?" Mai asked, a little shocked. "Did I do something?"

"To be precise, I would like to talk to you. About Natsuki."

"Oh…"

"I am not interrupting anything, am I? I can come back later."

"Oh, no, it's all right, Shizuru. Actually, you caught me here on my last day, and it's been rather slow today."

"I see."

"Here, have a seat," Mai offered, which Shizuru accepted. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Shizuru placed her purse on the table and pulled out an envelope. "I went to Natsuki's apartment this morning and retrieved this."

"I thought her place was all burned and gutted out?"

"It is."

"Oh…So how did that envelope not get burned?"

"Natsuki kept a safe in her apartment."

"I never knew that..."

"She usually kept it hidden from view, though I saw her open it once when she thought I was looking elsewhere. I believe that Natsuki knew that I knew as well."

"And so you went back to see if there was any clues in there, I guess?"

"Actually, I went back for a different reason."

"Which would be…" Mai prompted.

"Um…" Shizuru began, trying to find the right words and becoming ever so slightly flustered. "A more…personal…reason."

"Oh…" Mai said. "So, what was inside?"

"Things that I must keep to myself," Shizuru replied.

"Um, I meant the envelope," Mai clarified, seeing the look on Shizuru's face that said her mind was on a different subject.

"Oh, right." Shizuru said quickly, a little embarrassed. She opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. A note in Natsuki's handwriting had been hastily scribbled onto it:

_Shizuru,  
I'm sorry. I have to disappear for a while.  
Natsuki_

"So…" Mai took the letter into her hands. "Whatever's going on is on now, I suppose?"

"It seems to be that way, although something still bothers me."

"What's that?"

"Natsuki must have known that I have been following her for her to leave a message addressed to me in a safe that I and few others knew about."

"So…what puzzles you is why the roundabout way of doing so instead of just telling you face to face, or even with a phone call?" Mai guessed. She may be an airhead but she wasn't entirely stupid.

"Yes," Shizuru replied with a nod. Mai saw a flash of hurt speed through Shizuru's face. It couldn't be easy for Shizuru to be left out of whatever was driving Natsuki to do whatever it was that she was doing at the moment. After Shizuru had graduated and left for Kyoto to study, they had maintained phone conversations at least once a week and more frequent instant messenger chats (well, _relatively_ more frequent; this was Natsuki, after all). Some within their circle of friends and other Carnival acquaintances speculated some down and dirty things were being exchanged, but the times Mai had been at Natsuki's place revealed nothing of the sort to her. When curiosity got the best of her and Natsuki was in the shower, Mai had flipped through the conversation logs, none of which revealed anything that would make Sister Yukariko blush, let alone Natsuki. After consulting with Yukino about the capabilities of IM applications, Mai conceded that it was possible that Natsuki was simply hiding it out of embarrassment, but Natsuki never seemed nervous whenever Mai used her computer. Annoyed, perhaps, but never nervous like she would stumble upon something illicit. Her conversations with Shizuru, rather, seemed more like what two close friends would talk about while lying on a car and stargazing, occasionally throwing in clichéd one-liners like "Dude" or "Word". When Shizuru returned to Fuuka for their graduation, Mai had asked her on the side about it, and Shizuru confirmed her beliefs. What Mai had noticed, though, was that she confirmed them in a quiet, almost regretful manner. It was like while Shizuru acknowledged what had been going on between her and Natsuki, she wished it wasn't the case. Since Shizuru wishing to be away from Natsuki was about as likely as Mikoto going on a diet, Mai concluded the opposite.

"Um…" Mai snapped out of her musings and turned to see Akane next to the table with a root beer float in her hands. "Did something happen?" she asked hesitantly.

"Um, uh…" Mai and Shizuru both stuttered. Apparently Shizuru had been thinking off in her own world like Mai was. "N-not really, no," Mai finally managed.

"Um, OK…" a confused Akane said. "Anyway, here's your float, Fujino-san."

"Oh, thank you, Akane-san."

* * *

"How are you feeling, mistress?"

"Much better than yesterday, Miyu, that's for sure."

"That is good to hear."

"Though still, of all things that they didn't give me vaccinations for…chicken pox?"

"It could have been worse, mistress. For example, smallpox. Or tuberculosis. Or anthrax. Or polio. Or-"

The young blonde American held up her free hand. "OK, Miyu, you can stop now, I get the point." Alyssa returned to her ten weeks' worth of homework that she had put off until the night before. Quality wasn't the issue here (this was Alyssa, after all), but rather quantity. Miyu moved closer to the desk that Alyssa was rather furiously scrawling the invariably correct but barely legible answers on. "Mistress, I am able to complete the necessary tasks at a significantly higher rate than you. Not accounting pauses for sleep, nourishment, or sanitation, at the current rate you will be finished at 07:46:13 of Monday morning."

"Good, I'll be finished in time."

"That is not the point I wish to make, my mistress. You have just recovered from an illness. It is not a wise decision to jeopardize your health by depriving yourself of rest."

"But then it'd be you doing my homework, Miyu, not me," Alyssa replied, not slowing down her pace for the argument. "You know the promise I made to the Sister. And I will keep it."

"The completion of tasks assigned to you will not impart their intended benefit. You already understand the material; therefore there is no point in expending energy to complete the tasks."

"That's not the point, Miyu!"

"I understand, mistress, but-"

"Alyssa?" The two of them paused and turned to see the Sister in the doorway to their room.

"How long have you been standing there, Sister Yukariko?" Miyu asked.

"From when Alyssa said that you can stop listing those illnesses." She sighed and turned to her charge. "Your logic and reasoning are noble; that cannot be denied. But Miyu has a point; it's already close to midnight. It's not a good idea to exhaust yourself like this, especially so soon after you've been sick."

Alyssa sighed in frustration at the two people in the room who apparently didn't understand her. She silently returned her attention to the homework in front of her, a list of short-answer questions about the long 19th Century, muttering something about the effects of the European liberal revolutions of 1848. The Sister folded her hands and closed her eyes. Miyu looked on, her eyes being able to pick up what the Sister's lips were saying: "Lord, You are the source of all wisdom. For You, all things are clear. I pray that You would impart upon Your servant the wisdom to resolve this problem, for Your glory be furthered in this world." Her lips stopped moving, but for a minute or so the Sister kept her position, leaving the only sounds in the room to come from Alyssa's rapid pencil and flying paper. The Sister then opened her eyes. "Alyssa?"

"Mmm?"

"How about this? I will talk with the Director and get you an extension on your work, if you will stop and go to bed for tonight. Even though you are no longer sick, it is still very important that you allow your body time to recover."

Alyssa stopped her writing. "What assurances do you have that it will be extended?"

"My word and all my energy and power. The extension will be granted, Alyssa, I will make sure of it. So please, don't inflict this pain upon yourself. You don't deserve it."

Alyssa looked at the Sister, then at Miyu. The former's worry was evident to anyone passing by, but the latter's was something only she could see. But it was obvious. She put down her pencil with a sigh of resignation. "Get me twenty-four hours. That's it," she replied simply before getting up and putting her work away.

The sister sighed in relief as she watched Alyssa place her health over her pride. That was about as far as Yukariko could hope to get. "I will." She watched as the robot escorted her mistress out and to the bathroom. Yukariko smiled. Two years of her tutelage hadn't changed her personality all that much. She was still the determined, principled, and calculating young girl that had led the assault on the academy two years prior, yet she wasn't the threat that she was feared to be in the days and weeks after she took them under her wing. Rather, Yukariko had observed her emergence from the cocoon that a life with Searrs had enveloped her with and into the wider world. She was the talk of the high school division of the academy, the cute little girl with a mind rivaling Einstein. It was certainly a rather ironic picture, Yukariko thought, if Alyssa's fanclub knew who was actually behind part of the terror of two years prior.

But through it all, even though she had gained many more friends, her closest one still remained her robotic guardian. It was understandable, of course, given how Miyu was now the only constant figure in Alyssa's life. After Searrs cut the two of them loose by the lake following the failure of their attack and the chaos of the Carnival's conclusion, Miyu was perhaps the main reason Alyssa had not become an emotionally scarred cynic that hated life, perhaps not unlike Kuga-san prior to Shizuru's introduction. It was Miyu who gave Alyssa the courage, at least indirectly, to speak face to face with their former enemies shortly after the Carnival. It was no stretch by any means to call Miyu Alyssa's rock.

The whining cry from another room took away Yukariko's attention from her virtually adopted daughter(s) to her real one. "I'm coming, Setsuko!" she said aloud, hurrying towards her daughter. It was times like these that she wished Ishigami hadn't gone off on that retreat and gotten himself killed in an accident. But what the Lord giveth, the Lord can taketh away, and Yukariko had chosen not to dwell on her widow status. Rather, she would remember him by being a good mother. To all of her daughters.


	7. Hunting

_So, yeah, here's chapter 7. I'm hoping a little action will jump start things around here while I try to recover my 12 HiME files._

_Reviews are most appreciated._

_6/19/08_  


* * *

It was unusual for Nao to get up with the rising sun's orange rays spilling through the curtains, especially if it wasn't winter and the sun would rise no later than 6:30 in the morning. But then again, she had found herself in unusual circumstances. She sat up in the bed and stretched her arms out, knowing that she wasn't going to get more sleep. She let her arms flop down, her right arm landing on the linen bed sheet she was sitting on, her left colliding with something considerably more solid and making a dull "thunk". She turned to see what she had hit: the back of Natsuki, still asleep with her face buried into a pillow, her hair fanned over the back of her head like a broom, stirring a little from Nao's hit. For a moment, Nao was on the verge of freaking out as to why Natsuki was sleeping in the same bed as her and, from what she could see through the covers, evidently wearing nothing above the waist except for a bra. "Oh, yeah," Nao said to herself. "I remember now." Nao removed her hand from Natsuki's back, got off the bed, and went to her suitcase to fish for some clothes.

The two of them had left Fuuka yesterday morning just before dawn on Natsuki's bike in order to avoid detection by Searrs. The insufficient amount of sleep Nao got between Searrs's break-in of her dorm room and their departure combined with the amount of energy necessary to ride bitch seat on Natsuki's speeding and weaving Ducati from Fuuka all the way to Tokyo, plus the laundry list of tasks that had to be completed once they arrived meant Nao all but collapsed from exhaustion by yesterday afternoon. When Nao had awoken it was already sundown and Natsuki had brought back a simple dinner from a nearby convenience store for the two of them to eat, with the evening spent finishing up their settling in and watching poorly-made horror movies on the TV.

Having finished dressing, Nao walked over to the window and out into the city below. First District evidently had some nice connections to be able to secure a decent hotel room like that one at the edge of Shinjuku. Officially, their room was on the 6th floor of the building, but superstitions being what they were, they weren't really that high. (Nao had pointed out, in an effort to make small talk while they were bringing their stuff upstairs, that if one were to jump out the window, he would die sooner than what the floor number would suggest. Natsuki, being the killjoy that she was, disinterestedly proceeded to point out that a 15 meter drop isn't necessarily fatal.) The streets below had begun to stir, the thumb-sized cars and buses moving in their pre-set directions and carrying their loads to some office for a marathon of paper pushing and ass-kissing, followed by a night of acting stupid for the sake of appearing like a good office worker. The sun that greeted the worker ants of Japan took its sweet time crawling up from the horizon.

Nao heard Natsuki stir from the bed, and she turned around to see her crawling form slowly and deliberately rise from the bed sheets. "Sleep well?" she asked.

Natsuki let out a low groan, shaking off her drowsiness. "Um…yeah…just fine." She knelt upright on the bed, looking around to get her bearings. "What time is it?"

"Too early."

"A little more specific, please?" Nao tossed over her watch onto the bed for Natsuki to pick up. "God helps those who help themselves, is it?"

"I'm just being lazy."

"Says she who is up bright and early at 6:14 in the morning."

"No thanks to you."

"How is this my fault?" Natsuki asked defensively.

"Maybe you can operate for hours on end on a screwed up sleep schedule, but normal people don't. I slept so long yesterday afternoon, my sleep got thrown out of whack."

"That's your own damn fault, not mine."

"Pfft. Not when you're driving task after task up my ass."

"Whatever…" Natsuki conceded with a mumble. She got off the bed and wandered over to the bathroom, no longer half-asleep but evidently not aware that she had just revealed to Nao how low "modesty" was on her list of priorities. Natsuki was not a nudist, but judging from the fact that all she had slept in was her bra and panties, Nao guessed that Natsuki either still hadn't gotten used to her existence in whatever the hell this was, or that she didn't care. Maybe Fujino's orientation had rubbed off on her. "You want anything specific for breakfast?" Natsuki asked from behind the closed bathroom door.

"Long as I don't end up with diarrhea."

"Alright, there's a cheap restaurant nearby that I found out about yesterday. That cool?"

"Whatever."

* * *

Mai stood in front of the open door to Nao's room, still cordoned off with police tape, her arms folded and a worried look upon her face. Two days straight was too long for someone to not show up or contact someone or even for someone to not spot her wandering around campus, even for Nao. Natsuki, maybe, but not Nao.

"Oh, hi, Mai-san."

Mai turned around to see Yukino walking towards her. "Oh, hey, Yukino. What brings you here?"

"I just felt like coming by to your room now that we seniors have no more work to do." Yukino looked over at the taped-up doorway. "Nao-san still hasn't come back yet?"

"Afraid not. Fumi said that she has not from her either."

"This is weird," Yukino said. "What could she be doing?"

"I don't know, Yukino."

"Do you think that-" Yukino started to stay, but then stopped herself.

Mai turned around. "Think what?"

Yukino was hesitant to finish the sentence. "That maybe…Nao-san got herself in too deep?" The look of fear that Yukino had desperately hoped wouldn't show up in Mai's eyes did. "I'm sorry, Mai, I didn't mean to worry you like that."

"It's OK, Yukino. You have a good point." Mai exhaled sharply. "Maybe I should go down to the police station and see if they've seen Nao. But I still have so much to pack before Wednesday…" Mai glanced over at the piles of empty moving boxes in her own room. Some of them were Mikoto's, but most were hers, and the whole ordeal with Nao had already eaten up a lot of her designated packing time.

"I can do it," Yukino spoke up finally.

"You can?" Mai asked. "Don't you have to leave the dorms too?"

"I packed most of my things away already."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "That was fast."

"I tend to travel light, I guess," Yukino replied, scratching her head. "Plus, my room is going to be occupied by a new transfer soon, so I really didn't have time to loiter."

"I appreciate this so much, Yukino."

"It's not a problem, Mai-san. I'll call you when I find out something."

* * *

"Right this way, miss." The attendant led the elegant young lady down the hall to a large archive of various documents, filed away properly but dusty from years of non-use. "Please let one of us know if you need assistance."

"Thank you," Shizuru replied. The attendant left, leaving her to pore through the records for some answers. Just not the records that the attendant had assumed: once the attendant had left, she walked to a far corner of the room, where a computer terminal sat. Her true objective. Thirty-plus-year-old construction records would be of little use for her as Natsuki had not even reached legal drinking age, but perhaps their list of owners might.

"Login…_S-N-2-6-8-3-3_…password…" Shizuru pulled out a small plastic item that she just happened to come across on the way while being led by the attendant earlier and read the digits that were displayed. "_3-4-tw-…_agh, it changed, delete, delete…_0-4-1-1-1-1…_" She hit "enter", and the information was accepted. "Good…" Once the main screen came up, Shizuru put away the keycode and pulled out other items. Now armed with a notepad, several pens, and a list of aliases she knew Natsuki had used, Shizuru set off on the long task of finding each of her hideouts. She only hoped that her typing skills were up to the challenge.

* * *

"Mai, I'm hungry!"

"Mikoto…"

"Oh, right…I'm home, Mai!"

"Very g-"

"I'm hungry!"

Mai sighed in exasperation. Sometimes she wondered whether Mikoto did that on purpose. She supposed embedding good manners could only go so far. "I should have figured as much," she said with a defeated smile. "Dinner'll be ready soon." Mai was about to return her attention to the stove when her cell phone rang. She picked up an earpiece from the table, a birthday present from the others so that she could cook and use the phone simultaneously, and swiftly connected it to the phone. "Hello?"

"_Hi, Mai-san, it's Yukino._"

"Hey, Yukino, what's up?"

"_The police don't have any record of a missing person matching Nao's description._"

Mai sighed. "I see."

"_Do you think it would be a good idea to file a missing persons report?"_

"I guess, it couldn't hurt to try. But wait, isn't there a 72-hour wait limit or something before one can file a report?"

"_That's an urban legend, Mai-san. The sooner the police can start investigating, the better. Plus, I think the fact that Nao's room was burglarized would only help our case._"

"All right then, if it's not too much trouble."

"_Oh, don't worry about it._"

"All right. I'll talk to you later, then."

"_Bye, Mai-san._" Mai hung up the phone and returned her focus to the stove. "Sorry, Nao," she said quietly. "I know you don't like authority figures, but we're all too worried about you."

"Is something wrong, Mai?" Mikoto asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing, Mikoto. So how did your exam go?"

"I think I did OK. The shape part was hard, though."

"You mean geometry?"

"Oh, yeah, is that what it's called?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it too much. I had problems with that too when I took the math test."

"Really?"

"Well, my strength is in cooking, and that's not really conducive to…"

* * *

In some ways, Nao thought, this wasn't as different as before. The sun was gone, the lights were on, and the city was stirring awake for the night. Though, this being Tokyo, the nightlife was going to be considerably more pronounced than in Fuuka.

"Hey, there, pretty thing. Enjoying the evening?"

Maybe pronounced wasn't the right term. Perhaps "unique" might be a better fit.

Nao turned her attention away from the transvestite that was doing a piss-poor job of disguising his masculinity and the probably-traumatized man that was trying to get away with all due haste and back to Natsuki. "You know, you're likely to attract attention acting all secretive like this," she noted to the young woman peering around the corner.

"All right. You remember the plan?"

"Yeah." Not like Nao couldn't, with Natsuki having spent all the hours between breakfast and dinner forming and grinding it into her brain. "We get in, hang around a bit, find a Searrs guy, get him alone, then beat the crap out of him for what he's worth."

"Right. Don't start until I get prepared."

"Trust me, I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to reprise my role as the naughty underage skank. Just remember our deal."

"Yes, yes, you can have the guy's wallet." It was a small price to pay for not having to sacrifice her dignity.

"You got some mayonnaise over here," Nao said, pointing to a corner of her mouth.

Natsuki licked it up with her tongue. "Oh, thanks."

"Told ya you put too much in it."

The two of them walked around the corner and down the side alley towards the bar. Sticking to the plan, Natsuki went in first and found a seat at the far end of the bar. She sat down and began her usual routine: start by looking down at the countertop, with occasional glances at the other customers inside the establishment to pick out potential threats.

The bartender moved over to her. "What'll you have?"

"Just a beer will be fine, thanks." The bartender left Natsuki to her supposed sorrows condemned to be drowned in alcohol, admittedly not as difficult for someone with her life experiences to pull off the façade as it might have been. A few quiet minutes passed, Natsuki spending them establishing a rhythm of looking at the wooden countertop and glancing at the other customers in the place. It was a rather unassuming place, one that you'd never expect to be a favored watering hole of your enemies, but then again that was standard modus operandi for Searrs. The HiME had learned that first-hand with their attack on the academy nearly three years prior, and her on and off dealings with them since then have only reinforced that. She spotted a man seated at the bar itself, going through his wallet's contents and inadvertently flashing a business card. Natsuki saw the logo of a Searrs front company, and picked the prey.

Nao walked in about a minute or two afterwards, with the confidence that Natsuki had expected of her and quietly praying that someone would bite. The plan was designed to take advantage of their strengths and marginalize the weaknesses of their situation, namely that they were going in with only half a day's scouting and that they had no other leads, meaning it was a case of nailing it now or waiting and hiding for possibly weeks before another opening can show itself. In essence, they were going to recreate the beginning of the barroom brawl in Fuuka scene in Shinjuku, except with purpose and deliberation.

Nao discreetly looked over at Natsuki, who shifted her eyes towards a well-dressed young man that Natuski had identified as the target. With a subtle nod, Nao sat down next to him in the middle of the bar, about five or six seats away from Natsuki, just as the bartender came back with a mug of beer and set it down in front of her. Natsuki nodded at the woman absent-mindedly, focused on Nao and her prey. "_All right, Nao_," Natsuki thought. "_Let's see what you can do._"

"Hey, there." The sweet, sweet words that the spider crafted were certainly a sight to behold.

"Hey."

"You're looking kinda down. Rough day at work?" Natsuki was surprised Nao could even fake the sympathetic look.

"Yeah…" The man took a sip of his beer. "You could say that. Too many things to get done."

"And not enough time to get them done, huh?" The man nodded. Nao made her move: "That's a lot of stress for a man, even for one like you. Maybe you should do something to…relieve it."

The man looked at Nao, her attire subtly conveying the other half of the message. "If you don't mind and have some time…"

"I got some free time, with spring vacation and all. I figured I might as well do a little…service for the community."

The man turned back to his beer in contemplation. Nao took the opportunity to glance over at Natsuki, showing her a raised eyebrow. Apparently, this was easy money, even by Nao's standards. Almost too easy.

Nao turned back to see the man reach into his pocket and pull out a pair of handcuffs. "It's a little early for the kinky stuff, isn't it?"

"Perhaps," the man replied, toying with the handcuffs in his hands. "I was just preparing."

"A man of decision," Nao said in half-fake admiration. "I like that."

"You might love this, then," the man said.

"_Wait, what?_" Natsuki thought. It was the last thought she had before she saw the man swiftly handcuff Nao's left wrist to the handrail attached to the bar, and the last thought before she felt two strong arms pull her wrists behind her back and a third slam her head onto the counter. Natsuki struggled under the hand's power to see Nao hopelessly surrounded by at least four men, about to be tied up. "_Fuck._"

"We've been expecting you, Ms. Kuga, Ms. Yuuki."


	8. New Friends, Old Acquaintances

_Welcome to Chapter 8. It lurches back and forth a little bit, but enjoy the ride anyway._

_Again, reviews are most appreciated._

_9/13/08_

* * *

"Coming!" Mai shouted to the knocking on her door, briefly wiping her hands on her apron clean of the bits and pieces of breakfast that had clung to them. Opening them revealed four people, three of whom (Chie, Yukino, and Akane) Mai recognized immediately. The fourth person, though, caught Mai's attention.

"Morning, Mai," Akane said.

"Good morning, Mai-san," Yukino greeted.

"Hey," Chie said simply. Mai would later find it rather ironic for the gossip queen to use the shortest greeting amongst the three of them.

"Hey, good morning, you guys. And who might this be?" Mai motioned to the unidentified girl, shorter in stature with two long braids of brown hair streaming from the back of her head.

"I'm Arika Yumemiya," the girl replied, bowing to her seniors. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Tokiha."

"The same to you as well. And Mai's fine," Mai responded, returning her gesture in kind.

"She's a new transfer, the one who will move into my room next semester," Yukino said. "Akane brought her over from the crystal hall earlier, but her ID card hasn't come in yet, so we were wondering if you would be able to feed a few more mouths."

"Oh, sure," Mai said. "Come on in. I'll just double everything; it shouldn't be a problem at all."

"Double?" Arika asked, counting on her fingers. "I thought you said only two people lived here," she said to Yukino.

Chie deduced where Arika was getting confused. "Ah, it seems you don't know about _the_ Mikoto Minagi."

Arika blinked. "Should I?"

"Speaking of Mikoto," Mai said, "Can you guys do me a favor and watch the stove for me? I need to go wake her up. She has her last final this morning at 10:00."

"Yeah, sure," Chie replied.

"Thanks," Mai said, walking towards the bedroom with a frying pan and metal ladle in her hands.

* * *

The door to the warehouse room rattled with a key turning a lock, drawing the attention of an otherwise groggy Natsuki to the door. "Good morning," she heard a man say after the door opened. Natsuki had taken the past several minutes after shaking off her drowsiness to conclude that she and Nao had been drugged following Searrs's trap to keep them quiet through the night so that they could be transported to wherever this particular warehouse was. The timely drone of a ship's horn just prior suggested that the warehouse was near a port, which did narrow down the possibilities. However, the sun was pouring through a side window and onto the dusty hardwood floor, meaning they had been out for least six or seven hours, conceivably placing them anywhere from Sendai to Nagoya, or beyond. Natsuki also saw her pistol lying on a nearby table, unloaded and tauntingly out of reach. "I trust you slept well?"

"Could have used a pillow, steward," Natsuki replied.

"Your friend seems to be out cold still."

Frustrated at being unable to detect any accent in the man's speech to give her a hint, Natsuki turned to look at Nao, who was still unconscious. "Eh, she hasn't had much sleep the past couple of nights. She could probably use it."

"I see…"

* * *

"I see what you mean…" Arika couldn't help but stare at her future sempai as Mikoto continued the efficient disappearing act of Mai's cooking. Arika at this point understood why everyone she had met so far at the Academy was head over heels over Mai's culinary skills, but she still wondered whether this was a little excessive.

"I told ya," Chie said, glancing at the new student's awe-struck face.

Arika's mind then wandered to another topic that she had meant to ask about on the way up. "Mai? The Academy is safe, right?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Well, it's that on the way here I saw a room with police tape all over the door down one of the halls." Everyone slowed down their eating pace. Arika looked around and noticed it. "Is there something I should know?"

"Actually," Yukino explained, "that room was burglarized a couple days ago. Someone we know lived there."

"This is a big city, I guess. How is she doing?"

"Actually, we haven't heard from her since that night."

"I hope she'll be all right."

"She probably will," Chie assured. "She's been known to disappear like this sometimes."

"Ah."

"As for safety, I wouldn't worry about it too much," Yukino added. "It's the first time something like this has happened in our time here. What happened to Nao's room is a rarity."

"Nao? Is that her name?"

Yukino nodded. "You know her."

Arika shook her head. "Not really. I just heard some people gossip back in the hall. They say she's a delinquent feminist."

The seniors laughed. "The delinquent part I get," Chie said, "but a feminist? That's a new one!"

"If you knew her," Yukino said between laughs, "you'd know she wouldn't give a damn about politics."

"Yukino!" Chie exclaimed in a mock shocked voice. "You kiss your mother with that mouth? There are minors present!"

Mai, meanwhile, tried to smile at the banter but the talk about Nao continued to weigh heavily on her mind. She was able to let out a couple chuckles so as to not be a big drag on the gathering, but other than that she was only able to pick at her food, eating small portions of it at a time. Her seat at the corner of the table meant that she could brood without the others noticing.

"_Please be all right, Nao._"

* * *

"I see. Thank you anyway." The door closed, and Shizuru walked over to the elevator. She sighed as she hit the down button. Shizuru was officially out of leads; the apartment complex she was at was the last entry on her list. There was no indication that any of Natsuki's hideouts had seen any activity in the past few months, let alone the past few days. Neither had anyone seen or heard anything.

To say that Shizuru found it frustrating was calling Mt. Everest a speed bump. The pursuit of Natsuki for her could be described as having two different states: if she wasn't screwing it up and helping to haul the whole world to hell in a hand basket, she was chasing after her like all her admirers. (Well, it wasn't like she was fangirling after Natsuki like she was a rock star. She could at least claim to exercise some measure of self-control.) The former had brought much trouble for everyone; the latter had brought great misery for herself. The Carnival two years ago had shown how terrifying a creature she could become under the right (wrong?) circumstances, even with reasons and motives as pure as hers. Terrifying enough for her own love to rise up against herself. Who was it that said the worst crimes in history were done with the best of intentions? She couldn't remember.

In any case, following the Carnival and Natsuki's admission that their loves weren't the same, Shizuru took it more slowly, willing to settle for being a close friend of Natsuki (well, "close" in Natsuki terms). Love is something that had to be reciprocated for it to be good for both sides, after all, something which she eventually had shared with Shiho and from which, according to Akira, sparked Shiho's eventual defeat of her dependency on Yuichi. Of course there was the possibility that one or both of them were doing it for the wrong reasons, but the way Shiho had been so clingy to her Big Brother, it could almost be considered stalking. (Not that Shizuru wasn't sometimes perhaps guilty of the same, but Shiho was just textbook.) Shizuru had seen the relief in Mai's eyes when she had visited Fuuka last Christmas, now free to pursue the relationship she and Tate had wanted for months. It gave Shizuru some level of relief that her experiences could bring something other than pain for her heart, made it a little easier to bear it if it meant someone else could be happy.

Shizuru had actually not seen Shiho since the picnic they all had after the Carnival: their paths just never seemed to cross. Conversations with Mai's brother and his girlfriend indicated that Shiho had become more solitary in the classes they had together in the past few months, a worrying development not because of any danger of demonic crows buzzing over campus but because, in the end, she had helped to bring down the Obsidian Lord as well. Someone that had ultimately thrown her lot with them ought not to be left out in the cold. None of them, though, had the courage to let Mai know about it and saddle her conscience with more guilt. The two had promised to watch over her and Shizuru had also let Yukino, who was the Student Council President the past year (partly due to her support), about it, but she sometimes wished to talk to her face to face, see how things were going for her.

Yet while she had encouraged Shiho to release Tate and let him go for Mai, Shizuru still held out hope for her own relationship with Natsuki. It wasn't hypocritical in her eyes chiefly for this reason: Tate had chosen; Natsuki had not. To claim someone proactively without the other's consent struck Shizuru as self-centered at best. But so long as the other side hasn't made a decision, pitch all you want. And pitch Shizuru has. Though not as brazen as her naginata-wielding self two years ago, Shizuru has still tried to help Natsuki however she could from Kyoto, usually in the form of instant messaging (something which she took up for this purpose) and phone calls. It was a delicate balancing act for Shizuru, trying to get Natsuki to love her the way she loved Natsuki, yet at the same time trying not to go too far and inadvertently push her away more. Shizuru had much patience (one had to in order to put up with Suzushiro), but she sometimes wondered if even newlywed brides standing on cliffs waiting for her husband to return from war would wait this long.

Shizuru exited the apartment and stood at the corner. She hailed the next cab that passed by. "Where to, miss?" the driver asked.

Shizuru thought for a moment. "Café Le Sol," she replied. The last place she had seen Natsuki in person.

"OK." The driver drove off once Shizuru got in the back. "You seem tired, Miss. Long day?"

"You could say that."

"Looking for someone?"

Shizuru looked at the driver's eyes via the rear view mirror. "Is it that obvious?" Her poker face must be slipping.

"Not really," the driver replied with a chuckle. "I've just been around a while. I'm pretty good at picking up these kinds of things."

"I see."

"Who are you looking for?"

"...A good friend."

"Ah." Shizuru returned her gaze out the window, her head resting in the palm of her hand, in turn propped on the door by her elbow. The driver decided to let her be.

* * *

Mai dropped the box she was holding in her hands, drawn by the knock on her door. "Alyssa-chan! Miyu!" she exclaimed.

"Tokiha-san, we seemed to have interrupted you in the midst of your work," Miyu said, peering at the boxes inside Mai's room. "Perhaps it would be more prudent for us to come back later."

"No, no, it's OK! Please, come in!"

"You sure?" Alyssa asked.

"Yes, Alyssa, I'm sure. I'm not going to let my work get in the way of my friends." Mai ushered the two inside her room, littered with boxes and half-packed things. "So what brings you by here?" she asked as she resumed her packing.

"A whim, more or less," Alyssa replied, sitting down on an empty spot on the couch. "Handed in the last of my homework this morning, and then had to go to the administration office to get my dorm contract for next year sorted out."

"You're moving out of the church?"

"I like to think of it as moving into a normal life."

Mai mused over that statement for a moment. "Yeah, that probably is a better way of putting it. Are you going to be rooming with anyone?"

Alyssa shook her head. "Don't know yet. Should know by Friday." She looked around the room. "You've got a lot of stuff to pack," she observed.

"Yeah, I've fallen behind schedule. I meant to be done last night, but things got piled up."

"Like what? You've been done with finals since last week."

"Um, well…" Mai glanced at the door.

"Oh, about Nao-san?" Alyssa deduced. Mai nodded. "I'm sure she'll be fine. It's not like it's Mikoto or your brother who's missing."

"I guess."

"How much more do you have?"

"This, the furniture in my room, my clothes, the cooking stuff…what else…"

"Maybe we should help."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"Please, Mai-san. It's the least we can do for barging in on you like this."

"Yes, Tokiha-san," Miyu added. "It would be better if we were to assist in your work rather than be a hindrance to it."

Mai sighed. "All right, all right, if you insist." She motioned to a stack of folded-up cardboard. "The boxes are there. Can you two start on the kitchen stuff?"

* * *

Shizuru's eyes caught sight of Natsuki's burned apartment. That was to be expected. She also caught sight of something (or rather, someone) which wasn't so expected. "Stop here, please."

"Here, miss?"

"Yes."

"But we have not reached the café yet."

"I have changed my mind. Please let me off here."

"OK, then, Miss. 1750 yen."

"Keep the change." Shizuru handed over two 1000-yen bills and exited the cab before the driver could say "Thank you." As the cab drove off, Shizuru briefly looked up at the burned-out room before turning her attention to the front lobby where a certain pink-haired woman stood, looking around the area and being flanked by a couple of shade-wearing men in suits. Shizuru cleared her throat to make her presence known. "Director Himeno."

She turned around to face the newcomer. "Yes, Fujino-san? How may I help?"

"Do you have a few minutes to spare? I have some questions I must speak to you at length about."

"Yes, of course."

* * *

Nao's first thought when she came to was that it was still evening, having glanced out the warehouse window and at the rising moon. "Oh, good, I haven't been out too long." Her first conversation promptly dispelled that notion. "Took you long enough," she heard Natsuki say from behind her. Nao tried to turn to face her but was promptly told by bound ropes that that was not allowed. The rattling of cold metal handcuffs on her wrists served to reinforce this message. "What do you mean, 'long enough'?" she retorted.

"You've been out a whole day. It's Tuesday already."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Does it sound like I'm joking?"

"Fine, next que-"

"No, I don't know where we are."

"Dammit, will you let me at least finish talking?!"

"Already knew what you were going to ask. No point in waiting."

"You're awfully crabby today." Nao returned her attention to seeing if there was a way out of their bondage to their chairs.

While Nao kept muttering about how the hell she had gotten dragged into "whatever the hell this is", Natsuki kept quiet and kept looking around the room, like she had the previous twelve hours or so. The walls and windows were quite new, too new compared to the somewhat faded wooden floor. Combined with an earlier taunt by one of the guards that suggested screaming for help was futile, Natsuki concluded that the walls and windows had been recently replaced to make the room sound-proof (or at least enough for privacy's sake). Two guards right outside the only door into the former office meant the other obvious escape route was blocked as well. The chairs had been bolted to the floor, precluding any attempt that involved tipping their chairs over (the noise would probably attract the guards' attention anyway). "Kuga, you want to help or what?"

"You think I haven't tried all that already?"

"Yeah, but I haven't."

Natsuki let out a sigh. "And here I thought you were smarter than trying to repeat past failures."

"Won't know unless we try."

A faint sound caught Natsuki's attention. "Nao, stop."

"Oh, come on, Kuga, you've given up already?"

"Nao, shut up and listen." Natsuki punched Nao's wrists as hard as her position would allow (not very considering they were sitting with their backs towards each other), and the rattling of handcuff chains stopped.

From beyond the door, the two could hear the guards also noticing the sound. "Oh, great, not again. Go down there and tell Kasugano to turn that damn music down."

"Why do I have to go down to tell her to shut up? I did that last time. You go."

"Jan-ken-pon?"

"Fine."

"_Jan-ken-pon! Aiko deshou!_"

"I win."

"Dammit." The receding footsteps of one of the guards could be heard, soon overwhelmed by loud guitar music over what sounded like a stereo. Natsuki could make out what seemed to be English lyrics, though what exactly was being sung she couldn't tell.

"Kasugano!" the two heard the guard that had won at _jan-ken-pon _shout. "Turn down that damn stereo already! And what are you doing with that pipe?"

"Just this." Kasugano replied. A thud of metal on bone later, the thud of a body against the door was heard. What struck Natsuki wasn't the sudden attack on the guards at the door; it was, rather, the voice.

"Who's that?" Nao asked, turning to Natsuki as if she had arranged for their escape.

"No idea," Natsuki replied. "Be on your guard," she added as the sounds of a piece of heavy metal banging against the doorknob could be heard, almost rhythmically in time with the music. Unfortunately for Natsuki, Nao was facing the door, which meant Natsuki can't see the door even if she turned her head as Nao's head blocked from her view whatever Natsuki's position couldn't.

Soon the doorknob clattered onto the floor, and the door opened, revealing what exactly was being played earlier:

"…_Brace yourself, my dear…"_

"Good, you guys ain't dead yet." That voice was so familiar to Natsuki. Could it be…

Nao confirmed what Natsuki had been suspecting. "Midori?! What the hell are you doing here?"

"…_It's a holiday in Cambodia…_"

* * *

_For those of you who don't know, jan-ken-pon is basically Japanese for "Rock-Paper-Scissors". "Aiko deshou" (literally, "It's a tie.") is said anytime a tie results._

_The two lines at the end is from "Holiday in Cambodia" by The Dead Kennedys. Makes sense, don't it?_

* * *


End file.
